What do you do when you have so many things to do that you don't know where to begin?

Question

And they are all important and all urgent...

And you feel so tired that you don't really feel like doing anything!


Thank you for sharing your ideas!:)

Answer 1

Since you have posted this question in the psychology section, why not use psychology to answer your question

When you sit down and think of all the chores you have to get done, dont know where to begin cause all of them are urgent and are too tired to do anything, you just sit there and pity yourself doing nothing!

Stop thinking you have too many things to do.
Write down all your chores on separate small post it notes.

Try not to multi task too much, unless very necesary, cause doing one at a time is much easier.

Start with the easiest, least time consuming and fun task, first so that it sets your mood. Cross it out as soon as ur done with it
Crossing out helps you gain a sense of achievement.
Doing the least time consumin task first, gives u faster sense of achievement!

The next task could be a longer or difficult or boring one. Cross it out as your done!

Alternate between boring and interesting, longer and shorter tasks!

Depending on the number and duration of tasks, take short breaks. Dont indulge in television viewing and such activities which would tire you more and there is a chance of you forgettin your work to sit down and watch TV.

Reward yourself for finishing a task,
Suppose your going to have a cup of coffee or a bar of chocolate, have it after ur done with the most boring task! This was you'll be eager to get done with the task.

After you have done half of the tasks you had planned, take a major break and throw away the post its on which you have crossed them out.
This action would be symbolic of how much work load is off your shoulders, and would automatically make you feel lighter!

IF YOU JUST CANT SEEM TO GET YOURSELF UP AND MOVING to complete the most boring task, take it up as a challenge to yourself! try defeating yourself by doing the task rather than not doing it!

Remember : dont overthink at the start of how many tasks are there to complete, youll jus keep sitting there all day thinkin abt it then!

And incase even reading this is a task for you, and your so tired with tso many answers, please go back and read all of them cause it might just help you!!

Answer 2

even i used to feel the same. my father taught me how to cope up with so many things at a time. i will tell u . it has worked wonderfully well for me. hope it works for u also. first make a list of all the things u should u. ( even if it is a very small thing ) . now choose 1.which is more important 2. which is more urgent. 3. which can be given little more time.to do. now take the first list. & 2 nd list devide into 1. i like & 2. i don't like.now u will have three lists. 1 things i like which are urgent & important 2, things i don't like which are urgent & important & 3 things which can be done afterwards. now take the 2nd list . that is things i don't like but r urgent & important. finish that work first . then take the 2nd list which is i like which r urgent & important. then take the third list.it needs little bit of home work, but it works wonderfylly good. try it.

Answer 3

Take your list of things to do one piece at a time. You have to begin somewhere, so if they are all urgent, begin with what is MOST urgent and proceed from there. No matter how much you have to get done, you can still only do one thing at a time. One idea would be to get others to help you, hire a couple of people to get things done quicker. This would be the best thing to do if you have a deadline to meet.
If you're tired drink a couple of Red Bulls and eat a energy pill or something. This will give you the boost you need to power through to the end.

Answer 4

make a list

start with the easier important and urgent things, it will help put you in the mood to do the rest

or

do the more difficult or time consuming things first, then you have the easy ones to look forward to and the hard ones will be out of the way

I find myself tired and not wanting to do anything after I put my child to bed. If I sit down, nothing gets done. But if I stay up and start on something, then I feel better for getting it done and then it's not there waiting for you the next day.

Answer 5

Just make a list of what needs to be done, and go at it one at a time, crossing each off as you go. Don't keep looking at the full list, just whatever the next one is when you finish each task. It will take out some of the pressure and the overwhelmed feeling you are having. In addition, you must accept the fact you will not get them all done in one day. Figure out who will suffer the least based on that and put those at the end. Keep hitting the list when you have a spare moment and before you know it, you will have no more list. Good luck!!!

Answer 6

Effective time management is the key.

You first gotta divide all the task between Important and Urgent.
There will be things which are important but not urgent and things which needs to dealt with great urgency but are not that critical or important.

once u have catogrised your tasks then you can priorotise your time accrodingly. allcoate fix time to a particual task based on its requirement and once the time is passed jsut move onto the next trask.

This is how you will be able to manage things better. I am sure as i practice the same

Answer 7

Make a list of all the things you need to do in any order - as they come into your head.

Next mark them off into one of three groups:-
* URGENT - the things that you *must* do - and soon!!
* IMPORTANT - things that *have* to be done (but not soon)
* NOT IMPORTANT - the things that *should* be done in an ideal world but aren't really that vital

Next, for each of your three groups number them in the order they should be done - so Number 1 on your URGENT list is the most vital thing that you must do - this is your first task. Work through the URGENT list in the order you have assigned. Then start on the IMPORTANT, again in order, followed by the NOT IMPORTANT.

Cross each task off as you complete it and reward yourself with a short break, cup of coffee or whatever after every URGENT, after every two IMPORTANT and after every three NOT IMPORTANT

Rules:

1. Do all the things on your URGENT list before starting on your IMPORTANT unless you haven't got enough time to do any of the URGENT things but you have got time to sneak in an IMPORTANT

2. Do all the things on your IMPORTANT list before starting on your NOT IMPORTANT

3. Wherever possible don't leave a task half finished

4. It is not allowed for you to delete things from the URGENT or IMPORTANT groups without actually having done them but you can move tasks from one group to another if their priority changes

5. You are allowed to delete things from your NOT IMPORTANT list without having done them but only after having completed a task higher up the list

Answer 8

I heard an Illustation I think you will like...
A professor invited a student up to the stage one day. The professor said,"Fill this jar with as many of these ROCKS you can get in the jar." Student did that, and the prof said,"Is the jar full?" The student replid,"Yes." THe professor then pulled out some marbles, and told the student to put as many marbles in the jar he could, ON TOP of the ROCKS that were already in the jar. The prof then said, "Is the jar full?" The student said yes. The prof then pulled out some sand, and told the student to fill the jar as much as he could with sand, and asked him again,"Is the jar full?" The student said "yes." The prof then pulled out a jar of water, and asked the student to fill that same jar with all the water that would go into the jar. He did. Then the professor asked again,"Is the jar full now?" The student said, Yes!"
Then the professor explained, "If you take the largest things you have to do, FIRST, and the next smallest things, in order, you can achieve great things." (Paraphrased of course!)

Answer 9

Make a list. For example, I have a list that is literally entitled "Stupid Chores." I go through the list, doing what needs done, marking off what's been done, and checking what doesn't need to be done. It also encourages my family to check out the list and pick something. If you have errands to run, make a list of those things. It kind of sounds like you're depressed. It's hard to get thing done when you feel this way. Chronic fatigue syndrome can make you feel like this too. One way to tell the difference is that after exercise, if you're depressed, you will feel better, but if its's CFS, you will feel MORE tired. Getting overwhelmed doesn't help it any. Make your list of things and try to prioritize them and ask for help. One of the most prideful things people do is not asking for help when they really need it. Good luck.

Answer 10

Some people are actually energized by a full to-do list. But not me. Still, you gotta push through it sometimes. I treat it like a physical workout. I start out with light work, then get to the diffiucult stuff around midday and then cool down with more light work. But you gotta find your own pace. I also find that a big can of green tea with ginseng helps a lot, and so does keeping away from people that frustrate, annoy or otherwise drain my energy.